Honeycomb uncapping machine



Sept. 24, 1957 L. FOX

HONEYCOMB UNCAPPING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 13, 1956 fl \& Za] 3 a v F 3 a m F .5 ml 9 m 7 z z a M i iirwia j.

Sept. 24, 1957 FOX HONEYCOMB UNCAPPING means 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan.13, 1956 OHIO.

46 INVENTOR. 1070 FOX United States Patent HONEYCOMB UNCAPPING MACHINELloyd Fox, Sacramento, Calif. 7

Application January 13, 1956, Serial No. 558,992

4 Claims. (Cl. 612) This invention relates to honeycomb processingapparatus, and more particularly to a machine for removing the wax endcappings from honeycomb frames.

A main object of the invention is to provide a novel and improvedautomatic machine for removing the wax end cappings from honeycombframes, said machine being relatively simple in construction, being easyto operate, and greatly reducing the amount of human supervision andlabor required in the process of uncapping honeycomb frames andcollecting the honey therefrom.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved honeycombuncapping machine which involves relatively simple components, which isdurable in construction, which is easy to clean, which is readilyadjustable in accordance with the size of the honeycomb frames to behandled, and which efliciently empties and collects the honey from thehoneycomb frames, utilizing the honey for lubrication of the machine.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentfrom the following description and claims, and from the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of an improved honeycomb uncapping machineconstructed in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a vertical cross sectional view taken on the line 22 ofFigure 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary vertical cross sectional view taken on theline 33 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is an enlarged horizontal cross sectional detail view taken onthe line 4-4 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is an enlarged cross sectional detail view taken on the line 55of Figure 4. a

Figure 6 is an elevational detail view taken on the line 66 of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is an enlarged horizontal cross sectional view taken on theline 77 of Figure 2.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary vertical cross sectional view taken on theline 8-8 of Figure 7.

Figure 9 is an enlarged top view of a fragmentary portion of the shaftfor the knife guide supporting means employed in the honeycomb uncappingapparatus of Figures 1 to 8, and showing one of the spring anchoringcollars employed thereon.

Referring to the drawings, the improved honeycomb uncapping machine isdesignated generally at 11 and comprises a tank 12 of substantial lengthhaving a sloping bottom wall 13 which is inclined downwardly andrearwardly from the forward end of the tank, the forward end wallthereof being designated at 14. The rear end wall of the tank is shownat 15, and the vertical longitudinal walls are designated respectivelyat 16 and 17.

Designated at 18 is a longitudinal belt conveyor which is mounted in theupper portion of the tank 12 and which is inclined upwardly andrearwardly towards a receiving platform 19 mounted on the rear end ofthe tank above the rear end wall 15. The belt conveyor 18 comprises apair of endless sprocket chains 20 suitably supported in the upperportion of tank 12 and having a driving sprocket "ice honeycomb framesand to convey said honeycomb frames rearwardly toward the receivingplatform 19.

Mounted on the opposite sides of the tank adjacent the forward endthereof and rising above the forward end of the longitudinal conveyor 18are respective upstanding supports 23, 23 on the upper ends of which arejournaled respective longitudinally extending conveyor sprocket shafts24, 24. Mounted on each shaft 24 are the spaced sprocket wheels 25, 25on which are engaged respective endless vertical sprocket chains 26, 26,the lower portions of the chains being engaged on respective spacedpairs of sprocket Wheels mounted on longitudinal shafts journaled inbracket elements 26' mounted in compartments 27 and 27 provided at theforward end of tank 12.

The shafts 24 are drivingly connected to the motor 22 through suitablegearing and vertical sprocket chains 28 coupling the drive gearingassociated with the shafts 24 to a worm gear shaft 29 driven by theelectric motor 22.

Each pair of vertical endless sprocket chains 26, 26 is connected byspaced sets of connector elements, each set comprising a bar 29 and asaddle or channel-shaped member 30, as. shown in Figure 8, whereby thebars 29 are adapted to receive the top supporting ears 31 of a honeycombframe, shown in dotted view at 32 in Figure 8, and the channel elements30 are adapted to receive the lower corner portions of the honeycombframe 32, whereby to support the honeycomb frame transversely betweenthe respective pairs of vertical conveyor sprocket chains 26, 26, andwhereby said vertical sprocket chains'26 lower the honeycomb frame 32onto the forward end of the longitudinal conveyor 18.

The upstanding supports 23 comprise inwardly convergent arms 33, 33extending adjacent the respective associated endless sprocket chains 26,26, the arms 33 being provided with downwardly and inwardly extendingdepending spring arms 34, which may comprise strips of resilient metal,adapted to yieldingly support the inner portions of the sprocket chains26, 26, and to guide said sprocket chains vertically.

The upstanding supports 23 are connected by transversely extendinghorizontal cross bars 35, 35 spaced forwardly and rearwardly of thevertical conveyor chains 26, 26 and having secured thereto respectivepairs of Vertical angle bars 36 and 37 which are likewise secured to theinside surfaces of the respective tank walls 17 and 16, as shown inFigure 7. Secured to angle bars 36 are supporting collars 38, andsecured to the angle bars 37 are supporting collars 39. Designated at40, 40 are respective horizontal axes or transverse shafts extendingthrough the collars 39 and received at their opposite ends in thecollars 38, said shafts likewise extending through locking collars 41,41 secured on the top edge of tank wall 16, as shown in Figure 7.Rotatably mounted on each shaft 40 are a pair of knife bladeguide-supporting frames 45, 45, each frame 45 comprising a pair ofcollars 46, 46 connected to an angle bar 47. Rigidly secured to theangle bar 47, and hence to the collars 46, 46 are the respectiveoutwardly extending, parallel, generally triangular blade-supportingplates 48, 48. Slidably mounted in suitable slots provided therefor inthe plates t i 3 j speetiveiy to respective transverse shafts 52, 52slidably mad for transverse reciprocating movement in op-' posed pairsof supporting brackets 53, 53 mounted regetively on the top edges of thetank walls 16 and aashown in Figure 7. Mounted .on a pair of supportingarms 58, 58 secured o'gw'afl is a shaft 59 arranged parallel to the wall16 ma supported on suitable bearings 60, 60 pro- Vided on the arms 58,as shown in Figure 7. Secured to 'element 61' which is connected by aconnecting flail 2'10 the end of the other transverse shaft member shaft59 is driven from the motor 22 by suitable his Qt'oeket chain coupled bya suitable means, to :a

motor 22' mounted in the tank.

' i on the shafts 40 adjacent the oposite ends of g'uapective frames 45are the respective collars 64, colh'r having a stop vlug 65 engageablewith the edge the bar 47 of the associated frame 45, and proan'aperturedanchoring lug 66 in which is enone end of a biasing spring 67, thebiasing spring l the associated shaft 40 and being connected end to theadjacent plate member 48, to has the plate member downwardly. Since thebiasing w bf the spring 67 is transmitted to the shaft 40, :angle bars47, the stop lugs 65 and the collars Qathefiafi must be secured againstrotation, which Umlished by the provision of suitable locking meansinthe collars 44, such as set screws 68. Secured to the Of @611 shaft)is a lever 69 which is employed to I 1 rotate the shaft 40 to adjust theinnermost limitof the frames 45.

top edgeportions 70,70, whereby a honeycomb frame 32 may pass readilydownwardly between the edges of the plates and will exert a cammingaction thesespective frames 45, allowing said frames to be meeuficiently to permit the passage of the honey-- frame 32 therebetweenin a controlled position with respect to the oscillating knives 49.

be readily apparent from Figures 7 and 8, rotation of the shaft 59produces reciprocation of the transshaft 62,-which is transmitted to theknives 49 by to arms 51, causing said knives to reciprocate and to severthe-ends of honeycombs carried in the frame 32 as die-frame movesdownwardly between the knives.

on the upstanding supports 23 and extending measly over the forwardportion of tank 12 adjacent the knives 49 are respective electricheaters 70' including 71 directed toward the knives, whereby the aremaintained at an elevated temperature, facilitatmgthe removal of the waxend caps from the honeyentnbas the honeycomb frame is moved downwardlybetween the knives.

Mounted in the lower portion of tank ,12 and extending a medial distancerearwardly is a longitudinal agita- 72 comprising sprocket chainsconnected by trans- \yersely extending scraping bars 73, the sprocketchains on sprockets mounted on respective :transverse sprocket shafts 74and 75 journaled'in the lower tank 12. The sprocket shaft 75 is suitablymeans, including a sprocket wheel 63 mounted on the Shaft between thebearings 60, 60, and engaged the screen 78 in a rearward direction,while allowing the honey to pass through the screen and to flow alongthe sloping bottom wall 13 toward a honey drain conduit 79 connected tothe intermediate portion of the bottom wall. Designated at 80 is adownwardly and forwardly inclined apertured panel which is secured inthe lower portion of the tank 12 at its rear portion, as shown in Figure2, the apertured panel 80 being disposed over the rear portion of thesloping bottom wall 13 of the tank. Designated at 81 is an endless beltwhich is mounted in the tank immediately over the apertured panel 80,said belt being provided with outwardly projecting brushes 82 engageablewith the apertured panel 89 to scrape fragments of wax downwardlythrough the panel toward the rear portion of the sloping bottom wall 13.The endless belt 81 is driven by a sprocket shaft 83 which is drivinglycoupled by suitable sprocket chains and by suitable gearing to theelectric motor 76. The endless belts 72 and 81 are thus driven in thesame direction of movement by the electric motor 76, the scraping bars73 of the endless belt 72 engaging the screen 78 and moving rearwardly,whereas the brush elements 82 on the lower portion of the endless belt81 engage the apertured panel 80 and move forwardly.

Connected to the rear portion of bottom Wall 13 is a heated conduit 84adapted to drain ed the melted wax and honey accumulating in the rearportion of the tank 12. The clear honey is drained off through the drainconduit 79, as above explained.

Suitable heatingmeans is provided for maintaining the tank 12 at anelevated temperature, for example, spaced electric heaters 85 located atsuitable positions along the tank and being adapted to developsufficient heat to maintain the honey in a free-flowing condition at alltimes. The moving parts inside the tank are thus continuously lubricatedby the honey and require no additional lubrication.

In operation, the frames of honey are inserted between the verticalconveyor chains 26, 26, in the manner above described, by engaging theears 31 of the frames on the conveyor bars 29 and allowing the lowercorner portions of the frame to rest on the channel-shaped bars 30. Theframes are moved downwardly between the reciprocating knives 49, wherebythe wax end caps are removed from the honeycomb, allowing the honey toflow downwardly into the. tank 12 as the frames are deposited on thechains of the longitudinal conveyor 18. The honey flows downwardly intothe tank and is cleared by the action of the agitating belt 72,eventually passing into the drain conduit 79. A certain amount of honeyand wax particles 1 passes to the rear portion of the tank 12 and isengaged by the belt 81, the brush elements 82 of said belt causing thehoney Wax particles to be forced through the apertured panel 80 into thelower rear portion of tank 12, wherein the wax is melted and the meltedwax and honey are drained from the tank through the heated conduit 84.

As above explained, a separate compartment 77 is provided for thedriving motor 76 and the gearing associated therewith, for coupling themotor to the agitating belt 72 by an electric motor 76 mounted in acompartin the lower portion ofthe tank 12 subjacent the agitator I belt72,.and' whereby the transverse scraping bars 73 on or -1pm: portionofthe belt engage the screen 78, to

' :77 provided adjacent the intermediate portion of e tank 12, as shownin Figure 2.

V like; screen 78 of wire mesh, or the like, is mounted and the brushingbelt 81. Similarly, it will be understood that separate compartments areprovided respectively for the motors 22 and 22, the motor 22 beinglocated in the compartment 27, as above explained, and the motor 22being located in a similar compartment 27 located on the side of thetank opposite the compartment 27. The vertical conveyor chains 26, 26operate in synchronism, said chains being simultaneously driven by acommon transverse shaft journaled on the top edges of the walls 16 and17 and :coupled by suitable beveled gearing to the respective conveyordrive shafts 24,24. The shaft 9tlis drivingly connected to the motor 22,as by a sprocket chain 28 and associated gearing and sprocket couplingmeans, as is shown clearly in Figure 3.

-While a specific embodiment of an improved honeycomb uncapping machinehas been disclosed in the foregoing description, it will be understoodthat various modifications within the spirit of the invention may occurto those skilled in the art. Therefore, it is intended that nolimitations be placed on the invention except as defined by the scope ofthe appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A honeyuncapping machine, comprising a honey collecting tank having aforward end and a rear end, a conveyor positioned within said tankadjacent the upper end thereof and extending longitudinally of said tankfrom the forward end to the rear end, a vertically disposed conveyormeans positioned transversely of said conveyor and having the lower endadjacent to and spaced above the portion of said conveyor contiguous tothe forward end of said tank and having the upper end exteriorly of andspaced above the upper end of said tank, opposed spaced means on saidconveyor means for respectively receiving the opposite top supportingears of a honeycomb frame and the lower corner portions of said frame, aknife blade guide supporting frame arranged on each side of and parallelto said conveyor means and each movable toward and away "from saidconveyor means, a pair of spaced blade supporting plates carried by eachof said guide supporting frames, a knife extending between and mountedin each of said pairs of blade supporting plates for reciprocatingmovement, said knives being positioned in opposed relation with respectto each other, and means operatively connected to said knives foreffecting the reciprocating movement of the latter to sever the wax endsof a honeycomb frame as it is being lowered by said vertical conveyormeans toward said conveyor.

2. A honey uncapping machine, comprising a honey collecting tank havinga forward end and a rear end, a conveyor positioned within said tankadjacent the upper end thereof and extending longitudinally of said tankfrom the forward end to the rear end, a vertically disposed conveyormeans positioned transversely of said conveyor and having the lower endadjacent to and spaced above the portion of said conveyor contiguous tothe forward end of said tank and having the upper end exteriorly of andspaced above the upper end of said tank, opposed spaced means on saidconveyor means for respectively receiving the opposite top supportingears of a honeycomb frame and the lower corner portions of said frame, aknife blade guide supporting frame arranged on each side of and parallelto said conveyor means and each movable about a horizontal axis towardand away from said conveyor means, a pair of spaced blade supportingplates carried by each of said guide supporting frames, at knifedextending between and mounted in each of said pairs of blade supportingplates for reciprocating movement, said knives being positioned inopposed relation with respect to each other, and means operativelyconnected to said knives for effecting simultaneously the reciprocatingmovement of the latter to sever the wax ends of a honeycomb frame as itis being lowered by said vertical conveyor means toward said conveyor.

3. A honeycomb uncapping machine comprising a honey collecting tankhaving a forward end and a rear end, a conveyor positioned within saidtank adjacent the upper end thereof and extending longitudinally of saidtank from the forward end to the rear end, a vertically disposedconveyor means positioned transversely of said conveyor and having thelower end adjacent to and spaced above the portion of said conveyorcontiguous to the forward end of said tank and having the upper endexteriorly of and spaced above the upper end of said tank, opposedspaced means embodying a cross bar and a channel-shaped member on saidconveyor means for respectively receiving the opposite top supportingears of a honeycomb frame and the lower corner portions of said frame, aknife blade guide supporting frame arranged on each side of and parallelto said conveyor means and each movable about a horizontal axis towardand away from said conveyor means, a pair of spaced blade supportingplates carried by each of said guide supporting frames, a knifeextending between and mounted in each of said pairs of blade supportingplates for reciprocating movement, said knives being positioned inopposed relation with respect to each other, and means operativelyconnected to said knives for effecting the reciprocating movement of thelatter to sever the wax ends of a honeycomb frame as it is being loweredby said vertical conveyor means toward said conveyor.

4. A honeycomb uncapping machine comprising a honey collecting tankhaving a forward end and a rear end, a conveyor positioned within saidtank adjacent the upper end thereof and extending longitudinally of saidtank from the forward end to the rear end, a vertically disposedconveyor means positioned transversely of said conveyor and having thelower end adjacent to and spaced above the portion of said conveyorcontingous to the forward end of said tank and having the upper endexteriorly of and spaced above the upper end of said tank, opposedspaced means on said conveyor means for respectively receiving theopposite top supporting ears of a honeycomb frame and the lower cornerportions of said frame, a knife blade guide supporting frame arranged oneach side of and parallel to said conveyor means and each movable towardand away from said conveyor means, a pair of spaced blade supportingplates carried by each of said guide supporting frames, a knifeextending between and mounted in each of said pairs of blade supportingplates for reciprocating movement, said knives being positioned inopposed relation with respect to each other, a heat reflector positionedadjacent to and facing each knife, and means operatively connected tosaid knives for effecting the reciprocating movement of the latter tosever the wax ends of a honeycomb frame as it is being lowered by saidvertical conveyor means toward said conveyor.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS711,223 Miller Oct. 14, 1902 2,261,529 Stoller Nov. 4, 1941 2,580,397Bogenschutz Jan. 1, 1952

